Pwned has moved!

Pwned has moved!
http://beckdiefenbach.com/blog/
or for RSS:
http://beckdiefenbach.com/blog/?feed=rss2

My blog will now be hosted on my own server via Wordpress. Many thanks to Erik Lunsford (and his blog) who really helped me get started. Without his help I would still be lost in the code... (wouldn’t we all?).

The Canon 5D Mark 2- stats analysis [WARNING: May contain camera jargon]

So yes, the new Canon 5D Mark 2 looks amazing. I am sure the visual quality surpasses anything out there. It is a great step in the right direction. The 5D Mark 2 has built off what the Nikon D90 started (which came out a few weeks ago and was the first DSLR to do video).



5D Mark 2 strengths:

1080P video (D90 only does 720) 1080 should be good enough to pull stills as long as it is not too compressed.

12 Minutes until the buffer is filled (5 Min with the D90) If you shoot a clip longer than 12 minutes, then you’re doing it wrong.

Audio IN jack + built in mic (D90 only has built-in) Possibly the best thing the 5D brings to the table. I always use an external mic (wireless or shotgun) when shooting video. And you always need a built in mic as a back up.

21 Megapixels (13MP for D90) Fucking hell. 21? really? My D3 “only” has 12 and I have never felt like that wasn’t enough. When you are dealing with 200 dots per inch (only 72 for web) 21 is overkill and will just waste HD space. But whatever, the number is bigger so I guess that’s better for studio people.

Unlimited Jpeg- The buffer out-paces the shutter's frames-per-second. This means when shooting jpeg format (instead of RAW) you can put your finger on the trigger and never let go (until your card fills up).

$2,700 (that’s about $1,000 less than the original 5D Mark 1 when it came out)

25,600 ISO- Nikon D3 did this a year ago.


5D Mark 2 weakness:

4 frames per second- No where near what I need for sports, or even news for that matter. D3 does max of 11 FPS.

No Vertical Grip- Humans see horizontal, yes. But every so often vertical works better, i.e. portraits and sports. Yes you can just tilt the camera on it’s side. But for sports this is a bitch. Also, being a half-body means less buttons. Less buttons means the menu system has to be utilized more. Photogs always bypass the menu for a dedicated button when possible. Menus slow photogs down.

Build Quality- Half bodies are never built to last the abuse given by photogs.


What I want (Ideally in the Nikon D4, when ever it comes out):

15 MP- allows for cropping but won’t fill up my HD and DVD-Rs.

1080i- I need to be able to pull stills

20 Minutes of Video on the buffer- If I am interviewing someone I do not want to have to... oh wait, shoot, hold that thought...I just need to restart this camera.

Audio IN Jack + built in mic + Audio IN through the camera’s hotshoe- This way I can wireless mic someone while recording natural sound through a clean shotgun.

10 FPS- At least this, maybe 12 FPS

Full body- half bodies are for pansies


In conclusion:
The new Canon 5D Mark 2 is great, but not yet what a photo staffs need, just like the Nikon D90. But it is a step in the right direction!

Photo staffs need to invest in gear that is applicable with everything they shoot. I want to only have to cary 1 set of gear. Not still AND video gear... just the right gear.

Frankly, I am actually kind of surprised that Canon chose the 5D Mark 2 to start doing video. They should have done it with the Canon 50D (more consumerish, on par with the Nikon D90 or Nikon D300). The 5D series is designed for: (1) studio photogs (they do not care about video, yet) and (2) rich ass-holes (the photo market doesn’t care about, nor do I). For these reasons I do not think the 5D Mark 2’s video capability will get much play. We may not be seeing many videos produced on 5D’s.

Canon already has both of their top-end camera slots filled in the past year:
1D Mark 3- Designed for photojournalists with 10 MP at 10FPS
1Ds Mark 3- Designed for Studio photogs with 26 MP at 3 FPS

Nikon only has the D3 out as of last year.
D3- Designed for photojournalist 12MP at 9 FPS or 6MP at 11FPS

Nikon has a chance her to really “serve a death blow” to Canon with their next high-end camera, probably going to be called the Nikon D3x. It will have 24MP we know that for sure. The problem is that it will probably only have 3-5 FPS, thus only for studio photogs.

We will just have to wait for the Nikon D4 or Canon 1D Mark 4 to see where these video capable DSLRs really go...

Flooding hits Missouri

Water came in everywhere, and it took a lot with it. To the residents of the St. Louis western suburbs, the remnants of Hurricane Ike seemed like more than just a storm. This was a flood some had not seen in thirty years, but will be remembered for much longer.

Sunday was a day off for me. After having worked an extra long day covering the Missouri vs Nevada game in Columbia, Mo., I was awoken the following morning by hard rain on the four skylights in my apartment’s ceiling. Around 10:20 AM I received a call from my assignment editor, asking weather I was willing to work on my day off.

“The city is floating away,” he said.

I immediately agreed. My portfolio is lacking any good “spot news” images. I probably would have spent the day working on applications for internships and jobs, but this was more important.

I called one of the other photographers who was also covering the flood, Robert Cohen. He directed me to an intersection in Brentwood, a suburb, less than 10 minutes away from my place. I grabbed my two issued Canon cameras and got in my car.

I immediately came across obstacles.

Roads were blocked everywhere. Either by police cars, road barriers, or feet of water. I currently live in Webster Groves, which borders a few other suburban towns along Deer Creek, a major source of the flooding. I was still trying to find the intersection in Brentwood that Cohen had told me about. I was forced to weave through the maze of suburban streets. I found myself lost in no time.

I decided to just stay close to where the river should be. I’ll find my news there.

By the time I was starting to take pictures, the flood waters had crested. People had given up on their homes and cars. Now they all watched and waited.


Canon 1D Mark 2 N with 17-35mm f2.8, 100 ISO, f2.8 at 1/1600 of a sec
One of the first people in the water I came across was a man from the local gas company who had come to these condominiums. He had been ordered to shut off their gas lines. Without any protective clothing, he walked straight into the buildings basement in search of the shut off valve.


Canon 1D Mark 2 N with 17-35mm f2.8, 640 ISO, f2.8 at 1/8000 of a sec
I continued to make my way around the creek, finally arriving in Brentwood at the intersection I was trying to find. There was one business already trying to clean up. This tire shop had sustain only a few inches of water.


Canon 1D Mark 2 N with 17-35mm f2.8, 100 ISO, f2.8 at 1/3200 of a sec
Down the street, huge tractor tires littered the sidewalk. They had been dragged blocks away from the store where they came from. Lumber and other warehouse inventory had floated for nearly a mile down-stream.

So far, all I had covered was the business side or the storm. Waters had nearly receded entirely. Now I needed the home element. I had spent the past few hours driving around making images of families waiting. Now they were getting in their homes and assessing the damage.

I grabbed some food on the way back to the Deer Creek area, only to find all my Canon Camera batteries were dead. So I swung by my apartment and grabbed my personal Nikon cameras.

I returned to a street where at least half the block had a few feet or more of water inside the homes. One of the house’s lawn was covered in damaged furniture, books and carpet. The home was occupied by an elderly couple and one of their sons. The family let me in and that’s where I stayed for a few hours.


Nikon D3 with 12-24mm f4, 200 ISO, f4 at 1/320 of a sec
The grandmother and her daughter-in-law were debating weather or not to keep the flood-damaged bible. The grandmother decided to keep it.


Nikon D3 with 12-24mm f4, 100 ISO, f4 at 1/100 of a sec
The books had swelled so much with flood water, no one could pull them out of the shelf.


Nikon D3 with 12-24mm f4, 4000 ISO, f4 at 1/160 of a sec
After stripping out all the carpet and padding from the living room, it was the grandson’s job to clean out the residual dirt and water with the shop vac.

A little bit later I found my way into the grandparent’s bedroom. This was a touchy situation because this was their personal room with the most valuable family pieces. Few which were spared. I watched as the grandmother and her daughter dragged soggy items, piece by piece, out of the bedroom closet. Future Christmas presents, clothes and old bills were now damaged and destroyed.


Nikon D3 with 12-24mm f4, 3200 ISO, f4 at 1/30 of a sec
Later, they came across the birth certificates and house deed, all damaged by the water.


Nikon D3 with 12-24mm f4, 3200 ISO, f4 at 1/60 of a sec
The grandfather was cleaning too. But he would take a step back and just watch every now and then. I do not think I ever saw him without a cigarette in hand. Something to deal with the stress, I imagine. They had no flood insurance.

At about this point I had already worked more than a full shift and people back in the newsroom needed my images for the Web site and the next day’s paper. I headed home and transfered what I had to the photo desk.

Today I went into the office at my usual shift start time of 10:00 A.M, tired from yesterday’s long day. I was immediately turned around to go find more images of the effects of the flood. David Carson, a fellow photog, had stepped in as the assignment editor for the day. He told me that I needed to take the day to work on finding a good spot new image.

“News gets jobs, “ he said, refereeing to the gap in my portfolio.

I followed up on ever house I had stopped by the day before. But I needed to find something new. I had been in contact with a writer who directed me to an apartment park in Brentwood which had been hit hard apparently. That was an understatement.


Nikon D3 with 35mm f2
A couch, which had floated to the ceiling of an apartment living room, took out the window and most of the wall when the receding waters rushed out. Below the couch is his 60-inch LCD television.

The resident, a 27-year old Texas native, had just arrived back in St. Louis after visiting his family in the Lone Star State for the first days of Hurricane Ike. He said his family was not really hit at all, just some rain. He came home to find his apartment destroyed.


Nikon D3 with 35mm f2
I had never seen the effects of a flooding so close. I was surprised to find that after a flooding, not everything stays wet for very long. Furniture eventually dries out. What the flood leaves is dirt and mud. Anything no taken by the flood waters, is covered in a thin film of dirt from the nearby creek.


Nikon D3 with 35mm f2

Thankfully I can say I have never experienced a natural disaster so closely. I was only 4 years old in the 1989 San Francisco earthquake and our house was fine. I selfishly hope I only have to experience these events on the backside of my viewfinder, and not find myself in front of the lens.

Back 2 Back Football

Friday night was the typical high school football routine. This week was Granite City vs Belleville West.


Canon Mark 2 N with 400mm f2.8

What made this weekend different was that the next morning I got up early to drive out west to Columbia, Mo., to cover the University of Missouri's destruction of the University of Nevada's defensive line. Missouri beat Nevada 69 to 17. I have never seen a score get run up like that.


Canon Mark 2 N with 400mm f2.8


Canon Mark 2 N with 400mm f2.8


Canon Mark 2 N with 400mm f2.8


Canon Mark 2 N with 400mm f2.8

And the one that ran in the paper...

Canon Mark 2 N with 400mm f2.8

Another day of portraits

Canon 1D Mark 2 with 50mm f2.5 (yes, 2.5), 800 ISO, f8 at 1/125 of a sec

This was a story meant to highlight this local woman's red velvet cupcakes. When I saw the red chair in her living room I knew I hit jackpot. After rearrange her furniture, I came up with this image.